1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a skate powered by a motor in which the rotor also functions as a drive wheel of the skate.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art in the United States includes eight patents for motorized skates and one patent for a motorized skateboard.
In U.S. Pat. No. 823,385 the skate has a gear-drive motor attached to the rear wheel of the skate, with a bevel-pinion which meshes with a bevel-gear on the front wheel. It utilizes a gasoline motor having a carburetor.
The skate of U.S. Pat. No. 854,299 utilizes pneumatic tires which are chain driven by an internal combustion motor. Ratchets prevent the wheels from moving in a reverse direction. A belt to be worn by the user has control cords, which simply transmit a mechanical force when pulled by the user, for the motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,672,700 discloses, but does not claim, skates whose wheels are powered by an electric motor. The electric motor is attached to the heel of the skate and drives the rear wheels through a train of reduction gears. A rheostat or similar device controls the speed of the motor. The battery and rheostat are worn about the waist of the user and are connected by wires to the motor.
The skates covered by U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,008 have rear wheels which are powered through a flexible drive shaft by a gasoline motor power pack worn on the back of the user. Control means consist of a hand-held unit having wires for the throttle, clutch, and ignition. (The wires for the throttle and clutch simply transmit magnetic forces; the wire for the ignition electrical grounds and, therefore, deactivates the motor in the power pack.) The skate can only be driven in a forward direction.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,032 may utilize either standard wheels or wheels inside an endless belt that contacts the surface on which the skating is to be done. An electric motor is mounted on the skates and is connected to the drive wheels by xe2x80x9cany standard type of speed changing linkage,xe2x80x9d such as a chain and sprocket mechanism or a series of gears (spur gear trains). A battery and switches to control speed are worn by the user and are wired to the motor.
Covered by U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,841 is a device having an internal combustion engine to be worn by the user. A flexible drive shaft from the engine is connected, by a releasable clutch, to the driving shaft that powers the rear wheels of the skate. When the clutch is released, the skates function as normal, non-powered skates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,632 involves an extremely complicated device and may be either a motor-driven skate or a ski propelled by a belt driven by a motor. The motor is connected to the wheels or belt with a bevel gear device through either a Cardan or flexible coupling transmission which permit movement in one direction only. Power for the motor is generated by a system away from the skates, which includes a thermal engine and an electric, pneumatic, hydraulic, or equivalent power generator; there is also a power storage reservoir. Steering is accomplished through an elaborate deformable parallelogram system. A braking system and a remote control are, also, employed, as additionally is a variator for varying the speed of the wheels or the belt. Very few details are provided for the remote control; the patent essentially only states, in line 41 through line 45 of column 1, with reference to the remote control means, xe2x80x9cThese means being essentially an electronic, electric, hydraulic or equivalent regulation device; overload and overpressure release devices and an order control and transmitting means actuated, manually.xe2x80x9d
And an internal combustion engine is attached to a skate in the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,058. The engine may be coupled to a drive wheel by a vee belt pulley, a worm drive, a gearing system, or a chain drive. A friction clutch is optionally disclosed. Brakes are operated by depressing a toe plate. When no clutch is employed, the skater begins skating under muscle power until a desired speed is attained; this causes the engine to rotate so that it will begin operating when fuel is introduced into it. If desired, an auxiliary wheel, rather than a drive wheel, can be utilized for this purpose. A wired or wireless remote control is also disclosed; but, again, few details are given concerning the remote control.
The patent applying to a motorized skateboard is U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,621. An electric motor is attached to the bottom of a skateboard. The disclosure asserts that the motor is connected to a drive wheel of the skateboard with a belt, tooth belt, chain, direct engine drive, geared drive, friction drive, or angle gear drive, although only a pulley which is compressed into a channel in the drive wheel through pressure from the surface on which the skateboard is being ridden is claimed. A rheostat may govern the speed of the engine. The motor may be activated and deactivated through a hand-held transmitter which communicates with a receiver connected to the motor.
It should, moreover, be noted that none of the preceding patents indicated that the skate or skateboard could optionally be operated in a forward direction or a reverse direction.
The Motorized Skate of the present invention utilizes an electric motor wherein the rotor of such electric motor also serves as the drive wheel of the Motorized Skate. Preferably such electric motor is the Electric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheel which is the subject of the United States patent application entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheel,xe2x80x9d which is owned by the owner of the present patent application, and which has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the same date as the present application. The application for the xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheelxe2x80x9d is hereby incorporated by reference within the present patent application.
And even more preferably, such electric motor utilizes the first method for controlling the speed of the drive wheel which is described in the United States patent application entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheel.xe2x80x9d
The rail which supports the foot of the user and also supports the axle for each wheel of the skate. Such rail, thus, serves as the structure that supports the axle for the drive wheel has attached to such rail one or more electromagnets for each drive wheel in the United States patent application entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheel.xe2x80x9d The electric motors are otherwise constructed and function as described in the United States patent application entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheel.xe2x80x9d
Preferably, when the first method for controlling the speed of the drive wheel which is described in the United States patent application entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheelxe2x80x9d is employed, a single computer controls all the electric motors on a skate. Each electric motor or any combination of electric motors can, however, be controlled by a separate computer.
With the first method, each computer receives commands from a remote control which communicates with the computer by wire, by fibre-optic cable, by electromagnetic waves (preferably, radio frequency waves), by ultrasonic signals sent through the air, by utilizing the body of the user as a medium for transmission of a radio frequency wave, or by any other method for sending signals containing information that is well known in the art. When the second method for controlling speed is employed, the remote control can only transmit signals, as described above, for controlling the speed and for reversing the direction of the drive wheels. (As with the computer, a single timing circuit can be utilized for any combination of the electric motors on a given skate but preferably controls all such electric motors.) But when the third method is utilized, only reversal of direction can be accomplished with the remote control.
Preferably when the first method for controlling the speed of the drive wheels is utilized, the remote control also receives signals from the computer and displays the information contained within such signals. Such information may, for example, include the speed of the skates, the distance traveled, the rotational speed of the drive wheel, and the remaining time for which the battery will have sufficient charge to power the skate.
Also, preferably, the remote control separately controls each of two skates so that, for example, one skate can run forward and simultaneously the other skate can run backward to facilitate a user""s pointing the user""s toes in generally opposite directions and skating in a circle.
And preferably, the structure that supports the axle for the drive wheel contains a cavity that communicates with the electromagnets and can contain either a heat-transfer medium or a heat-absorbing medium to reduce heat near the electromagnets. When a heat-transfer medium is to be employed, the cavity also communicates with at least one radiating surface, such radiating surface preferably being either composed of carbon-filled nylon plastic or a metal fin.
Optionally, the electromagnets are encapsulated within a module having at least one radiating surface, such radiating surface preferably being either metal fins or fins composed of a carbon-filled nylon plastic. The module is removably inserted into the structure that supports the axle for the drive wheel. Within a cavity of the module is placed a heat-transfer medium (a fluid or gel) which communicates with both the electromagnets and the radiating surface, thereby conducting heat from the electromagnets to the radiating surface, from which such heat is transferred to the surrounding environment.
Moreover, in a still further alternative, the electromagnets can either simply be air cooled or may have liquid circulated between such electromagnets and a radiating heat sink through tubes. When the tubes are utilized, a unique magnetic pump is employed that is operated by a magnetic connecting between the rotating permanent magnets and a permanent magnet located in the impeller of the pump. And air cooling may be aided by the attachment of a fan to the structure that supports the axle for the drive wheel.
Therefore, cooling of the electric motors occurs just as in the United States patent application entitled xe2x80x9cElectric Motor with Rotor Being a Drive Wheel.xe2x80x9d